Five Whys

Discover the distilled essence of your problem.

To find the root cause of your problem:

Step 1:  On a blank piece of paper, create a table with 2 columns and 5 rows.

Step 2:  Write "What do I want?” above the first column and “Why do I want that?” above the second column.

Word version of Five Whys.docx (Click link to download Word version).

Excel version of Five Whys.xlsx (Click link to download Excel version).

PDF version of Five Whys.pdf (Click link to download PDF version).

Step 3:  Now, look at your Problem Statement and ask “What do I want?”. Write your answer to that question in the first column.

Step 4:  After answering the first question then, ask “Why do I want that?”. Write your answer in the second column.

Step 5:  Repeat the process, starting with your last answer from the second column.

Step 6:  Keep on asking the two questions five times or until you have drawn the problem out to its highest level of abstraction.

To discover ways to get what you want, try this alternative of the Five Whys method:

Step 1:  Create a second table (2x5). Write "What do I want?” above the first column and “In what ways might I . . . ?” above the second column.

Step 2:  Copy the items you listed in the “What do I want?” column (above) and write them in the first column of your new table.

Step 3:  Then answer the question, “In what ways might I . . . ?” for each one of the items you wrote in the first column.

Word version of Five Whys Alternative.docx (Click link to download Word version).

Excel version of Five Whys Alternative.xlsx (Click link to download Excel version).

PDF version of Five Whys Alternative.pdf (Click link to download PDF version).